Shutdown looms as US talks falter
Source: Agencies |
April 8, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WITH time running short, Democratic and Republican leaders in the United States Congress said yesterday they were pessimistic about budget talks and blamed each other for the looming threat of a government shutdown.
Disputes over abortion and environmental issues posed late hurdles to a final deal on billions of dollars in spending cuts that would keep the government operating beyond today's midnight deadline.
Republicans in the House of Representatives planned an afternoon vote on a stop-gap measure to push the deadline back a week, although Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called it a "non-starter."
Congressional negotiators worked through the night to find a compromise that can keep more than 800,000 government workers in their jobs, but Republican House Speaker John Boehner said "we were closer to a number last night than we are this morning."
Reid blamed the impasse on a dispute over Republican policy involving abortion and the environment. He said fiscal conservatives aligned with the Tea Party movement were driving the process.
"I am not nearly as optimistic, and that's an understatement, as I was 11 hours ago," Reid said. He said the two sides were in agreement on the numbers but the Tea Party movement was pushing an "extreme" agenda and cheering for a shutdown.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden scheduled another meeting with Reid and Boehner to work toward a deal.
With the US economy in the early stages of a recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s, Obama said after a late Wednesday meeting at the White House that a government shutdown would have "ramifications all across this economy."
The president said a shutdown could hit small business owners, applicants for home loans and workers who would be left without paychecks as the result of federal layoffs.
A final deal would clear the way for the House and Senate to vote at some point on funding the federal government through September 30 and put an end to a months-long fight over spending for the fiscal year that is now half over.
A Democratic congressional aide said total spending cuts for the remainder of this fiscal year would probably end up closer to US$33 billion than the Republicans' US$40 billion target.
Disputes over abortion and environmental issues posed late hurdles to a final deal on billions of dollars in spending cuts that would keep the government operating beyond today's midnight deadline.
Republicans in the House of Representatives planned an afternoon vote on a stop-gap measure to push the deadline back a week, although Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called it a "non-starter."
Congressional negotiators worked through the night to find a compromise that can keep more than 800,000 government workers in their jobs, but Republican House Speaker John Boehner said "we were closer to a number last night than we are this morning."
Reid blamed the impasse on a dispute over Republican policy involving abortion and the environment. He said fiscal conservatives aligned with the Tea Party movement were driving the process.
"I am not nearly as optimistic, and that's an understatement, as I was 11 hours ago," Reid said. He said the two sides were in agreement on the numbers but the Tea Party movement was pushing an "extreme" agenda and cheering for a shutdown.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden scheduled another meeting with Reid and Boehner to work toward a deal.
With the US economy in the early stages of a recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s, Obama said after a late Wednesday meeting at the White House that a government shutdown would have "ramifications all across this economy."
The president said a shutdown could hit small business owners, applicants for home loans and workers who would be left without paychecks as the result of federal layoffs.
A final deal would clear the way for the House and Senate to vote at some point on funding the federal government through September 30 and put an end to a months-long fight over spending for the fiscal year that is now half over.
A Democratic congressional aide said total spending cuts for the remainder of this fiscal year would probably end up closer to US$33 billion than the Republicans' US$40 billion target.
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